Human Transit Corporation Route 800 'Torbury North-South Rail Link'
Torbury North-South Rail Link (Traditional Chinese: 多比利南北城際鐵路; Traditional Chinese abbreviation: 南北綫), numbered as Route 800, is a rail link operated by the Human Transit Corporation (HTC) between Torbury Centre Terminal and Sha Kai Tsuen mTrain Station. Route 800 is the only mTrain intercity line that runs entirely within one municipality. History In the late 1970s, with the booming growth in Torbury City and the City of Royal Plains causing an increase in intercity travel, there is an increasing need to construct an intercity rail line between the two cities. The former intercity bus link (Route 2F, which still exists today running at a limited frequency) is reaching almost 200% capacity. After discussions within HTC and meeting with government officials to discuss the construction of the rail in the late 1970s, the Parliament of Torbury and the Ministry of Transportation of Torbury approved of the free state's first passenger rail between Torbury and Royal Plains. Rails were laid between the two cities starting the summer of 1979, with the rails largely completed by 1981. In September 1981, Human Transit Corporation bought its first two locomotives for trains to run on this line (formerly numbered as 801). On January 1, 1983, train services running under the name of "Route 801 - Highway 2 Corridor Train Service" between Torbury Mezzo Terminal and Royal Plains Centre Terminal (was named "Royal Plains Terminal" then). On March 31, 1990, the route has been extended northwards to terminate at the historical Pine Valley mTrain Station. This is the first northward extension of the line. The second northward extension of the line added three extra stations (Pineden, Mountchester, and Hillden) and some 40-km of rail. The second northward extensions began constructions around June 1990, and was largely completed within two years. On 2 April, 1993, the second northward extension opened (Pineden Station opened ahead of schedule in October 1992, however, no train services until April 1993). At the same time, services at Pine Valley was removed. Initially, services did not include Torbury Centre Terminal due to the lack of space to create surface train platforms. In 2011, through 3 northward extensions and 2 southward extensions, the rail line has been extended to over 250 km with 12 stations. To maximize service efficiency, staff has suggested to break up the existing Route 801 at Torbury Centre Terminal. The new arrangement would create a new line, Route 800, where Route 800 would serve the portion north of Torbury Centre Terminal; Route 801 would be truncated to serve only south of Torbury Centre Terminal. Effective September 1, 2011, Route 800 is created from Route 801. Torbury Centre Terminal is jointly served by the two broken up lines beginning that date. Third Northward Extension With the rapid increase of population in the Torbury Outback area, and with overcrowdiness of HTC Route 49 servicing the villages of Pai Tau Tsuen, Pai Mei Tsuen and Wo Che Tsuen, it has been proposed by the HTC to either extend the existing Rail Link, or create a branch line in 2009. The extension has been proposed in the Strategic Public Transportation Plan in the Torbury Outback 2020 (Traditional Chinese: 多比利鄉郊地區公共交通計劃 2020) and submitted to the government. In particular, the section 11.6 North-South Rail Link extension section (Traditional Chinese: 南北綫延綫計劃) mentioned to add three extra train stations, either by a branch line from Torbury Pineden Terminal or extending the current line from Hillden mTrain Station (which will involve a relocation of the station). The plan is often popularized by the media as the Third Northward Extension. After thorough discussions with the public and within the parliament, the final decision was to go with a branch line. The proposal was approved in early 2010, with constructions beginning in late 2010, finishing by December 2011. The branch line was placed in use beginning 22 April 2012. Route 800A was created as a branch line, servicing all the stations before Torbury Pineden Terminal and the new three stops north of that, providing peak services to connect to remote villages in the Torbury Outback. The branch line also deviated from its original plan. Instead of placing stations in Pai Mei Tsuen and Wo Che Tsuen, the stations have been placed in Hang Pin Tsuen and Sha Kai Tsuen instead, both villages about 2 km south of the aforementioned. Each station will have mTrain shuttles connecting to them to ensure sufficient usage of the rail line. During off-peak hours, Route 49 and 49A would provide additional services to Route 800's service area, as limited trains will operate during this time. In late-2012, after test runs with the Route 800A branch line, it has been reviewed that more services are required in the Outback area. With the introduction of more frequent and full-day services, it has been recommended to join the spur line with the existing main line to create a complete Route 800. On September 1, 2013, the joining of the two rails has been completed, and the current Route 800 becomes in service. Fare As with other mTrain routes, Route 800's fare is calculated based on distance travelled. Stations The following lists all stations served by the route, except the ones that are formerly served by this route but now served by Route 801. 800